Writing Your First Resume

When it’s your first time writing a resume, it can feel a little overwhelming. You’re required to fill up a piece of paper with your skills and experience—things you might not have in abundant quantities yet. The good news is that when you’re seeking an entry-level position, you only need to specify general categories—unless you happen to have some specific, relevant skills and experience.

Filling a resume with relevant information is hard. If you’re having trouble with it, here are some tips to help you to fill in those blank spaces.

Academic achievements – When you don’t have work experience yet, your academic achievements carry a lot of weight. Put every achievement, be it an award for good grades or recognition for your science project.

School clubs – There are many clubs in school that can help students further develop their skills and interests. Don’t refrain from including it in your resume, even if you’re just a member. You might be applying for a job that calls for skills that you have developed in the club, which can certainly help to increase your chances.

Volunteer work – Volunteering can help show your potential employer that you have what it takes to really commit to what you’re doing. You might not have experience at working for pay, but at least you already know how it feels to do work.

Any help or service you’ve provided before – You might just be starting out in the workforce, but this doesn’t mean that you have yet to do things that are similar to what you usually do on the job.

The important thing to remember is not to be too generic in a resume that you’re sending to an employer. You definitely want it to be specifically tailored to the job. Leave out anything that won’t help you prove your worth to an employer. Focus mainly on the areas that an employer wants, and less about what you think is important. This will help you to craft a resume with information they want—something you can present to employers with pride and confidence as you take those steps toward your first job.

Alan is the creator of Interview Success Formula, a training program that has helped more than 40,000 job seekers to ace their interviews and land the jobs they deserve. Interviewers love asking curveball questions to weed out job seekers. But the truth is, most of these questions are asking about a few key areas. Learn more about how to outsmart tough interviewers by watching this video.